As the two of them practiced, the rest of the Li family gradually woke up.
The three cousins found it quite novel. When they heard it could strengthen the body, they immediately started copying them, and the courtyard soon became lively.
Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, a sudden scream came from the backyard!
Startled, everyone rushed over and anxiously asked what had happened to their eldest aunt, who was collecting eggs.
Yang Jinhua looked utterly shocked. Pointing at the chicken coop, she stammered excitedly:
“E-eggs!”
Li Shitou stepped closer to take a look but didn’t see anything unusual. Confused, he asked:
“Mother, what’s wrong with the eggs?”
Looking at her clueless son, Yang Jinhua stomped her foot and exclaimed loudly:
“There are more eggs! These four hens usually lay at most four eggs—but today, there are twelve!
Have these chickens gone mad? Or did they eat some miracle medicine?
How can they lay so many eggs?!”
She felt like she was dreaming—it was too unreal. Thinking this, she suddenly slapped her son’s sturdy arm.
Caught off guard, Li Shitou winced and asked pitifully:
“Mother, why did you hit me?”
Instead of answering, she asked, “Does it hurt?”
“Of course it hurts! Don’t you know your own strength?”
“Good! If it hurts, it means this is real—there really are more than ten eggs!”
Li Mutou, watching from the side, chimed in:
“It must be because Aunt and our cousins have brought good fortune. They just came home yesterday, and today the hens are working extra hard!”
As Yang Jinhua happily gathered the eggs, she agreed:
“That’s right—our Li family has welcomed three lucky stars!”
Seeing her eldest aunt beaming with joy, Shen Qingli said:
“It’s our whole Li family that has good fortune.”
“Haha, that’s right! We’re all blessed! I’ll go tell your grandmother this good news in a bit!”
So, that morning’s meal became the most plentiful the Li family had ever had.
Everyone received one egg—just enough, twelve eggs for twelve people.
After hearing about it, Old Madam Li immediately decided they should eat them all.
“If it’s a blessing, we should accept it,” she said.
No one disagreed. Everyone was delighted.
That day, even the chickens got the most generous feed they had ever received.
Old Madam Li said they were great contributors and hoped they’d keep it up tomorrow—laying another twelve eggs!
Meanwhile, Shen Qingli secretly decided to gather more wild plants that night to exchange for eggs again.
After breakfast, Old Master Li led the men to the fields.
The weather was warming, and the soil, frozen all winter, was beginning to thaw.
They needed to loosen the soil, fertilize, and water the wheat so that it could yield a good harvest in summer.
Although the Li family worked as butchers, they also farmed.
They didn’t have much land—only six mu—but it was enough to get by.
Since it wasn’t a festive season, there weren’t many opportunities for slaughtering pigs, so the men spent most of their days working in the fields.
After the men left, Shen Qingli and her family helped Old Madam Li with chores—feeding chickens and pigs, loosening the soil in the backyard vegetable patch.
Old Madam Li planned to plant scallions, garlic, and chives—vegetables that could tolerate the cold.
Before long, it was time for lunch. The second daughter-in-law, Liu Cui, had already prepared the meal.
She packed a basket of food to deliver to the men in the fields and told the women to eat first before continuing their work.
Seeing this, Shen Qingli quickly said:
“Second Aunt, let me go with you. I’d like to learn the way—next time, I can help deliver food to Grandpa and the others.”
In truth, this was a perfect opportunity to earn more Little Fish Coins out in the open—she couldn’t miss it.
There would definitely be more plants in the fields!
“Alright, let’s go together,” Liu Cui agreed.
After a quick bite, they informed the others and set off toward the fields.
The farmland of Li Village lay at the foot of green mountains. A river flowed down from the hills, with fields on both sides, making irrigation convenient.
Along the way, the scenery was picturesque—lush mountains and clear waters.
Shen Qingli loved it more the longer she looked. This feeling was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Soon, they arrived at the fields, where many villagers were already working.
Liu Cui called out, and the men came over to rest and eat.
Li Dahe and the others were delighted to see their niece bringing food. As they ate, they chatted casually with her.
The lunch was simple: shepherd’s purse buns, watery rice soup, and a plate of stir-fried salted vegetables.
Even though they farmed and worked as butchers, the family was large—especially with three growing boys who ate a lot.
So while they could fill their stomachs, they weren’t wealthy.
They usually ate like this—only during festivals would meals be more lavish.
Compared to this, that morning’s meal seemed even better.
After the men finished eating, Liu Cui said:
“Ali, come on—I’ll take you to the foot of the mountain to gather some wild vegetables. The shepherd’s purse is especially tender right now—very delicious.
I even heard from the local doctor: ‘On the third day of the third month, shepherd’s purse is better than elixir.’ It’s said to be good for your health!”
“Alright.”
Shen Qingli readily agreed—this was exactly what she wanted.
So Liu Cui brought her to the foot of the mountain, and they began picking wild greens.
Shen Qingli deliberately kept some distance before quietly using the system to scan the plants.
There wasn’t just shepherd’s purse—there were also other wild greens like noodle greens, dandelions, and pepperweed.
So Shen Qingli began her “big harvest”!
After selling all the wild plants around her, she moved to another spot and then slowly began digging for shepherd’s purse to keep up appearances.
While digging, she checked her system panel.
Only she could see it, so she had nothing to worry about.
And when she looked, she was shocked.
That small patch of plants had earned her a huge amount of coins.
She now had 2,890 Little Fish Coins!
Delighted, Shen Qingli checked the transaction records and discovered that shepherd’s purse and dandelions were worth more than ordinary weeds.
Each plant could be exchanged for 2 coins.
It seemed the system priced items based on their value.
With so many coins now, it was only natural to improve everyone’s meals.